Republican Congressman breaks with party, admits college loans deserve bankruptcy:Rep. Dennis A. Ross, of Lakeland, Fla., bravely admits that college students deserve bankruptcy safetynet, like all other
loans afford, and affirms the small-government view that we need to “get The Government out of the business of loaning the money,” but has yet
to introduce or cosponsor legislation to address either problem

LAKELAND–
In what may indicate a shift in public opinion on the contentious College Debt
issue[1],
Representative Dennis Ross, representing Florida's 15th
Congressional district (including Lakeland) bravely admitted in a
TownHall Meeting[2]
that if student borrowers can't repay their loans, we should 'go back' to our prior U.S. Bankruptcy Laws, for, among other reasons,
because “we're not really doing a good service, either way...by making
them over-indebted for their
Education.”[2]Ross breaks ranks with the GOP in this candid admission. For example,
H.R.1674, the “Private Student Loan Bankruptcy Fairness Act of
2015,”[3]a bill by Rep. Steve Cohen
(D-TN-9th),
has 40 cosponsors, all Democrat. Typically most or all cosponsors of such bills are
Democrat[4],
but both parties (who have, at times, had complete control of the House, Senate, & Oval Office) are reluctant to allow bankruptcy
discharge for college loans like Credit Card users, banks, or the “über-rich” regularly do.

Ross
made these statements[2]
in a “TeleTownHall” meeting (THM), back on 05-21-2014 (nearly 2 years ago), but has yet to introduce
bills[5]offering relief to suffering students. This is troubling because Ross
claims to support such legislation, yet hasn't acted on his belief. A review is in order:

ROSS SHOWS INTEGRITY(1) While Ross was a state lawmaker, he & Rep. Don Brown of DeFuniak Springs, were the
only 2 reps voting against the property insurance bill making Citizens the largest property insurer in Florida. It's believed that they were stripped of
their posts as council chairmen by then-Speaker Marco Rubio for voting to protect taxpayers from
liability.[6](2) While, former Rep. Adam Putnam voted for the unpopular T.A.R.P. & Stimulus
bailouts[7], Ross
has only voted for about half the Appropriation bills that
“overspend.”[8](3) We remember my infamous 'Heavy Hand' letter to the
editor[9], complaining of Ross blocking people from his social
media. However, what most don't know is that his office unblocked me about 12 hours BEFORE my letter published. Since
they didn't have a heads up, their unblocking wasn't “reactionary,” but rather because
Ross & staff have integrity. (He fired a staffer for this overstep.) While I sometimes disagree with Ross on things (and am human & make mistakes,
myself), nonetheless, after my letter published,
and it became apparent to me that Ross' help may have been viewed as "reactionary," I wrote
a follow-up letter, as
documented in footnote nine[9], below, admitting that his actions
weren't "in response" to the letter (e.g., "pressure" from the 'bad press' from the newspaper to do the right thing), since he hadn't seen it: Ross'
actions could only have been for the right motives. (4) Moreover, some might wonder if Ross merely "claimed" that he supported "uniform laws on the subject
of bankruptcies," as guaranteed by Art.I, Sec.8, Cl.4, of the U.S.
Constitution, merely to "put on a good show," and pretend to represent me. Well, Ross may be far from perfect, but he doesn't "put on a show" to
pretend. I know this to be a fact because I went to one Town Hall Meeting in Plant City, Fla., also in his district, and I asked him if he supported
2nd Amendment rights for teachers and college students/professors (like Utah, Texas, and the nation-state of Israel commonly afford them). Even in
spite of the fact he was speaking before a "Red State" Conservative group of Conservative constituents, he had the courage to disagree with me in open
forum, publicly! So, "right or wrong," Ross has no compunction or fear of speaking his mind on an issue. Thus, when he hosted the tele-TownHall meeting
documented in reference two[2], below, he was sincere, genuine, and
100% truthful in his views (which, thank God, agree with mine, on the subject-matter of college loans' Constitutional bankruptcy rights). (5) Lastly, Ross
knows he'll receive tough questions from me in THM's, but doesn't shy away from calling on me (as
this[2]YouTube vid documents). Thus, we know that, while human, nonetheless, Ross has
honour & integrity.

As
Gallup[10]
documents, Congress is only about one level more popular than ISIS, the Taliban, or Al Qaeda, yet the reelection
rate[10]is almost 100%: We
tend to think highly of our 'own' Congressman. A recent Princeton
study[11]finds: “that majorities of the American public actually have little influence over the policies our government
adopts” –and: “even overwhelmingly large pro-change majorities, with 80 percent of the public favoring a policy change, got that change
only about 43 percent of the time.”

Even
Ross, whose record is above average (pro-life, 2nd
amendment supporter, once rated “most conservative”
congressman[12]), has been described as a 'RINO' by Conservative
Review.[13] He admits College
Loans deserve bankruptcy[2], but has yet to introduce or cosponsor such
legislation.[5]Does he only represent the rich?

Lady Justice ponders:Will justice be served?

Symbols: SCALES represent competing claims of Redress. BLINDFOLD
represents fairness: "Justice is blind." SWORD represents the Power of The Court to enforce Justice.

Not only would bankruptcy (and other standard consumer protections, like truth in
lending, refinancing, & statutes of limitations) help struggling borrowers, but they'd scare off lenders, resulting in sharp
declines[14] in tuition. Therefore:

First,
please cosponsor bills like H.R.3451, the Student Loan Bankruptcy Parity Act of 2015 -- or, better yet, H.R.449, the Discharge Student Loans in Bankruptcy
Act of 2015, which is identical to H.R.3451, except that H.R.449 has bipartisan support, and is further along in the committee-review process. (Actually,
make college loans equal to Credit Card loans, which have ALL std consumer protections.) Then, please pass a bill reversing the obscene increases in
College Loan limits in §422 of H.R.507 (109th CONGRESS), the “College Access and Opportunity Act of 2005,” a bill introduced by former speaker John
Boehner, which was the cause of this crippling & massive college debt and benefited only the banks & universities. Boehner, an Establishment R.I.N.O.
(Republican in Name Only), whose bill distorted the Free Market with increased subsidies, in the form of increased in taxpayer-backed college loans,
regularly opposed Conservative Free Market checks/balances against predatory lending, tuition inflation, etc., and was rightly ousted as Speaker of the
House. But, are the current 'Republicans' any better?

Ross
also said that we needed to “get The Government out of the
business of loaning the money”[2]
However, he has yet to introduce a bill that does this. So, please end ALL HigherEd Loans: American colleges in the 50's &
60's were the best in the world[14]
WITHOUT need for loans: We can do without loans today. Many
experts (Ron Paul[15] & former Secretary of Ed, Bill
Bennett[16])
agree we shouldn't even have
College Loans in the first place: When Universities see subsidies, they increase tuition simply to pay for million-dollar
salaries![14]

This costs students
(skyrocketing tuition) and taxpayers (who back these loans).

For those who think I'm
asking for a 'Liberal Free Handout,' please remember that college used to be free in
America[21] (and currently is free in many
technologically-advanced countries, including Germany).[21] (Indeed,
the liberals have a strong argument for free college, since an uneducated, debt-burdened populace threatens our National Security!) So, if a strong
argument exists for 'Free College,' how much more is it indefensible to deny the modest reforms I've suggested?

Students are told from their youth that they need an education to compete in today's world;
let’s not punish them forever for doing what is right. So, I ask Congressman Ross to introduce legislation that represents the
99%, not the rich 1%–legislation that simply makes College Loans 'equal' in all respects to 'Credit Card' loans, and then once
that is done, end this wicked college loan system: We never needed it in the past, and we need to end this new form of debt slavery:
Slavery[17]
was wrong in the past—and it's wrong now.[14]
It must stop.

Gordon Watts (gww1210@aol.com) is a Lakeland resident, one-time candidate for state
house[18], and part-time advocate. He almost won on behalf of
Terri Schiavo[19], all by himself, in state court, and, more
recently, was believed to be the only NonLawyer that a Federal Appeals court allowed to participate in the recent spate of 'Gay Marriage'
cases.[20] Watts is currently asking the US Supreme Court to
strike the law in question.[14] Watts has a double major with
honours in Biological & Chemical Sciences from The Florida State University, and was Valedictorian of his graduating class at United Electronics
Institute. DISCLAIMERS: Watts has a huge college debt, estimated to be almost 60 thousand dollars, according to the March 18, 2016 intervention motion
he filed in Tetzlaff v. ECMC, #15-485, before the US Supreme
Court[14], which suggests a bias for relief. But as Watts is
currently on IBR (Income Based Repayment) with his loan, capping him at 10% of his discretionary income, which is 10% of zero, and does not expect this to
change, this removes a conflict of interest (aka personal bias) of monetary gain from the proposed change in law he seeks.

Editor's note -- UPDATE: The 5 bills discussed in this Editorial are stored in this opens-source folder:
BILLS/. Of those, 4 are classified as 'Great' or 'Medium,' and The Register endorses
passage of these bills. The Boehner bill, in this folder, is described as 'bad' and The Register opposed it's passage. However, Watts, the writer of
this Editorial, is not formally supporting the Bernie Sander bill, S.1373, the ‘College for All Act,’ because, while it's a 'great' bill, we presently can
not afford this, and Watts views it as too liberal. However, Watts notes that the liberal arguments in favour of 'Free College' are strong, primarily
because it impacts upon National Security and, ironically, will result in less loss of taxpayer dollars via "College Loan" defaults -two 'Conservative'
concerns. As such, The Register offers the following analysis of the Higher Ed mess. -It may proceed 1 of only 3 paths. Referring
to this graph:

1. The far-left extreme is liberal, as students get a free handout: While 'many 'Conservative' reasons exist to eventually grant Free College (as we
did in the past-and as many countries now do), we can not presently afford this, and it must be delayed, for now.

2. The middle portion of the graph shows college students paying near (or up to double) Free Market value for college, which can be achieved if the
remaining 'great' bills in this folder are passed into law. This is politically-difficult,
given that lawmakers in both parties are 'in the pocket of the bank' (e.g., bribed & influenced by campaign contributions, maybe legal, but certainly
immoral). Since tuition is, legally, a tax, as described in the 'Background Information' links, immediately below, the student would not be over-taxed, as
he/she currently is, and thus, this modest compromise is actually quite 'Conservative' for this reason, and numerous others elucidated in this series.

3. The far-right section of that graph shows that the student is being
price-gouged for tuition (legally, a tax), and as excessive taxes are 'Liberal,' in addition to illegal Monopolies a violation of the 'Conservative' Rule
of Law, this option (what we're presently experiencing at the time of this update, Wed. May 18, 2016), is quite 'Liberal.'

Since a mass 'at rest' tends to 'stay at rest,' there is a lot of political pressure to "leave a sleeping dog lie," and not enact any changes proposed
in point #2, immediately above, but, if this is done, then 1 of 2 things is almost certain to happen. Either there will be an uprising of the masses,
many of whom are sorely over-taxed, and over-indebted through the illegal schemes of this Predatory Lending, illegal Monopolies, etc. --- Or, alternatively,
the refusal to do anything here will result in the over-$1-Trillion-dollar College Loan Debt bubble bursting, and this will bring down America's economy,
collapsing the U.S. Dollar, and, without a formal national currency, the debt would 'de facto' automatically be forgiven. (With no creditor, there can be
no debt.) The Register recommends we choose path #2, above, a modest and reasonable compromise, and strive to eventually get to path #1
-- in time.

Excerpts:
“ANNOUNCER:
(music) Welcome to the tele-forum conference centre. Please enter your tele-forum ID code, followed by the pound key now. (touch-tones)
This tele-forum powered by Broadnet is currently in progress. Please note that this [public tele-TownHall Meeting] call may be monitored,
recorded, or rebroadcast...CONGRESSMAN
ROSS:
'We need leadership...not from behind but [rather] leadership from the front...OK, ah, if you have a question, press star three
(*3)...Ah, Gordon in Lakeland.' GORDON WAYNE
WATTS:
'Hey, how's it going, Dennis?' DENNIS
ROSS:
'Good, how are you doing?' GORDON
WAYNE WATTS:
'Before I ask my question, I wanted to remind most of the people who have probably forgotten [how he recognised me from long ago, and made
me feel welcome, at one prior Town Hall Meeting, in spite of knowing how hard my THM typically questions are]...[I ask about updates on
unrelated
Immigration free-hotel scams]...' CONGRESSMAN
ROSS:
'Gordon, I can't tell you right now, but I'm going to have that staff person get back with you. GORDON WAYNE WATTS:
'Um hmm... Could I ask another question, real quickly, if I could...I know we've discussed this before, and you were good enough to put up
[with my hard questions] and what-not, but... uh, you – you...you could file for bankruptcy, if you went in debt, uh...
Donald Trump filed for bankruptcy for Millions...[but] College Students can almost never
file for bankruptcy. And, you know me – I'm Conservative: I don't want an easy way out. But the Free Market forces,... but the
ability to file for bankruptcy in the financial world is like the Second Amendment in the physical world: The [college] student is
unable to defend himself – and the Predatory Lending, and inflation of the tuition results. [And the reasons?] The Liberals
made the loans easily available. And the so-called 'Conservatives' removed the Bankruptcy Protections, which is [sic: 'are'] the
'Economic Second Amendment'. And, I don't think that it's fair that everyone in the world can file for Bankruptcy, except a College
Student. And... and, I want a... I mean, Bankruptcy won't [necessarily] get the person off [out of debt] totally –
they'll still have to pay something. But that... that violates, uh... the U.S. Constitution's, uh... prohibition against unequal Bankruptcy
Law. [E.g., the U.S. Constitution's uniformity clause, Art. I, Sec. 8, Clause 4.] It's in the U.S. Constitution about, uh, [how] the U.S.
Bankruptcy Laws have to be uniform. And this [law] violates that [clause]. And, of course, it's just morally wrong – that you
could file for bankruptcy, Donald Trump can file for bankruptcy, but I can't. And... and, people are ruined! They [student borrowers] are
committing suicide in some cases [over this]. And, I would like you to file a bill that just makes them equal with everyone else. I mean,
what... what can you tell me about that? CONGRESSMAN
ROSS:
'Well, you've recognised a very big problem that we have—and that's having the Government in the business of Student Loans.'
GORDON WAYNE WATTS:'Amen.' CONGRESSMAN
ROSS:
'What we had when I was in school were guarantees by the Federal Government that the money that was actually loaned was from banks.
It was Private
Money that was guaranteed by the Federal Government. The Banks took the initial risk, but they compete...but they competed for my
business, and I went to several banks and got the Student Loans. And then I consolidated with Sallie Mae, the student loan mortgage
association and eventually paid them off. You know, the other thing that I think [is that] we're being very disingenuous to our students
about, uh, is that we're setting them up for failure – not only because of the inability to have any relief, such as setting up a...a
Loan Forgiveness to occupations that we need: nurses, doctors, engineers, professions that we desperately need to have in our
country – that we could give them a Loan Forgiveness if they commit so much time, uh, in the program for a particular project. But
the other thing is, and I've learned this going over and meeting with the Financial Aid director, at the University of South Florida in
Tampa, is that we're giving an expectation that you can get as much money, for whatever you need, while you're in school, by way of a
loan. And your occupation that you're being trained for may not ever be able to afford to pay back that loan. You may... you may have
$150,000.oo in loans, but you may have a job that only pays... that will only
pay a maximum of, let's say, $35,000.oo per year over you life.
You can't feasible and reasonably pay for that. We're being disingenuous... Look, I think one of the best investments I ever made
in my life was in my Education. There's no question about it: If people want to go [to college] they should have their opportunity to
go, but we should make it affordable. And we need to get The Government out of the business of loaning the money, because we're
loaning taxpayer dollars. We should invite more Private Capitol, we should make it more competitive, and let the banks
take the risks:
That's what they're in the business of doing! And, if they take the risk, and if a person can't pay back , then we go back to your
[prior] Bankruptcy Laws, which, umm... You know, the [current]
Bankruptcy Laws right now... If a student does file for Bankruptcy, they can have all other debt
discharged—but
their Student Loans. So, we're not really doing a good service, either way, uh, by making them over-indebted for their Education. You
raise a very good point, and I appreciate that.' GORDON
WAYNE WATTS:
'Thanks very much, Dennis.' CONGRESSMAN
ROSS:
'Ah... Star-three' (*3) to participate... Ah, because of our late start, to vote [on a selected topic, via touch-tone], uh, we're only
going to take one more question...and, we've got Frank in Mulberry (Florida)...[who asks about promises to seal the border and address
Immigration problems – redacted for brevity, but accessible in audio links above]...'

[7] Even with all these liberal actions in a “very
conservative” Polk, Fla. district, voters still overwhelmingly voted in Dennis Ross, but they were a clueless electorate, and the same thing
happened when Adam Putnam, a VERY liberal Republican, voted for both the T.A.R.P. And Stimulus bailouts, both very unpopular in Polk
County—because “the redneck vote” turned out and voted for him—without first inspecting his voting record.
Observe:

**
HR 3997: Financial Asset Purchase Authority (Establishes the Troubled
Asset Relief Program (T.A.R.P.) to allow the Secretary of the
Treasury to purchase troubled assets from any financial institution
(Sec. 101) = VERY unpopular in conservative Polk County, Fla.).
Failed in the House 205-228, but Adam Putnam still voted 'yes' for
this 'liberal' bill: http://www.gop.gov/votes/110/2/674

[8]
It was a headache for me to try & count, but here are some
partial lists of such Appropriation Bill votes where I get my
estimate that Ross opposed about half the 'bad' spending bills: (And
I was being more generous than the Conservative Review in my
assessment.)

[10]
“Our ruling The meme said that Congress has 11 percent approval
ratings, yet 96.4 percent of incumbent lawmakers were re-elected. We
found small differences in the actual percentages -- Congress had
roughly a 14 percent approval rate, and the incumbent re-election
rate may be as low as 95 percent -- but the point of the meme is
solid. Voters hold Congress in low regard, yet they re-elect almost
everyone. So we rate the claim True.” Source:
“Congress has 11% approval ratings but 96% incumbent reelection
rate, meme says,” By Louis Jacobson on Tuesday, November 11th,
2014 at 4:56 p.m., PolitiFact:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2014/nov/11/facebook-posts/congress-has-11-approval-ratings-96-incumbent-re-e/

“Although
Americans overwhelmingly disapprove of the job Congress in general is
doing, voters re-elect most members

“Only
one in ten Americans thinks Congress is doing a good job. With
numbers like these... it's hard to imagine how any of our lawmakers
will get re-elected in November. But sadly many of them will.
According to a new Gallup poll, Congress gets a 10% approval rating,
which ties its all-time low for the past 4 decades. 83% disapprove of
Congress. What's more, Congress' approval rating is down among all
political groups... at 9% for Democrats, 11% for independents and 10%
for Republicans. While experts say it's hard to pinpoint exactly why
Americans are so negative about Congress, the answer is probably
"everything."...Why do we keep doing this to ourselves? The
definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again
and expecting a different outcome.”

“The
enduring unpopularity of Congress appears to have seeped into the
nation's 435 congressional districts, as a record low percentage of
registered voters, 46%, now say the U.S. representative in their own
congressional district deserves reelection. Equally historic, the
share of voters saying most members of Congress deserve re-election
has fallen to 17%, a new nadir...The legendary Speaker of the House
Tip O'Neill famously coined the phrase "all politics is
local,"...But now that adage rings less true as voters see their
own U.S. representative in the same way that they see most other
members of Congress -- as not deserving re-election...Partisans on
both sides of the aisle are displeased with Congress. But with so few
voters saying they are willing to re-elect their own representative,
it suggests that many officeholders will be vulnerable, if not in the
general election, then perhaps in the host of competitive primaries
soon to take place.” Source: “Record
Low Say Own Representative Deserves Re-Election,” by Andrew
Dugan and Brad Hoffman, January 24,

“Congressman
Dennis Ross (R-FL) is currently ranked the most conservative Member
of the House from Florida, according to our Legislative Scorecard. He
first came to Congress thanks to the Tea Party wave of 2010, and has
continued to live up to the conservative ideals he ran on.”
Source: “Congressional Profile: Rep.
Dennis Ross (R-FL),” by Ashe Schow | May 22, 2012, Heritage

“LAKELAND
| U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross has been ranked by the National Journal as
the 15th most conservative member of the House. The National Journal,
a Washington, D.C. publication dealing with politics and government,
based its annual rankings on the 2012 voting records of the 435
representatives and 100 senators. The rankings will be published next
week.” Source: “Journal Rates Ross
15th Most Conservative House Member,” By Bill Rufty, The
Ledger, Wednesday, February 20, 2013 at 2:46 p.m.:
http://www.theledger.com/article/20130220/POLITICS/130229963

“I
had met Ross a few weeks earlier in his Capitol Hill office with a
different sort of dissection in mind. National Journal had recently
ranked him and nine other Republicans as the most conservative House
members, and I wanted to see what made one of the most conservative
members of the most conservative, powerful freshman class in the
history of the House of Representatives tick.” Source:
“Hog Wild: Hunting Boars With Congress' Most Conservative
Member,” by Ben Terris, May 31, 2012, The Atlantic:
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/05/hog-wild-hunting-boarswith-congress-most-conservative-member/257946/

Excerpts:
“ANNOUNCER:'Tuition rates have increased roughly 3-times that of inflation over
the last 3 decades.' … MODERATOR:
'So, Congressman Paul, you've already talked about the fact that you want to get rid of the Dept. of Education, [and] you've said that you
want to get rid of Federal Student Loans. So, how would you make college more accessible, more affordable for these students –
and students around the country?' RON
PAUL: 'Well, I think you've proved that the policy of Student Loans is a total failure. I
mean – a Trillion dollars of debt? (Applause) And, it's gonna be dumped upon the taxpayer? What have they gotten? A poorer
education – and costs that have skyrocketed because of inflation. And, they don't have jobs. There's nothing more
dramatically failing than that (student loan) program. So, no, there's no authority in the Constitution for the Federal Government
to be dealing with Education. We should get rid of the loan programs, we should get rid of the Dept. of Education. And, give Tax Credits if
you have to, to help people. But, the inflation is the big problem. It's 3 times the rate that the government admits inflation is. And,
that is natural and normal. When governments inflate the currency, it goes in the areas the government gets involved in. Housing? Prices
skyrocket. Stock market? Skyrocketing prices. Medical care? Skyrocketing. Education?...' MODERATOR:
'How will they pay for it? How do they now pay for college? If they're not... [able to take out loans]' RON PAUL: 'They way you
pay for cell phone – and computers – … (applause) … You have the Marketplace there. There's competition. Quality
goes up. The price goes down. Can you imagine what it would've been like if the Dept. of Homeland Security was in charge of finding one
person – or one company – to make the cell phones? I mean, it would've been a total disaster! So, when the government gets
involved in the delivery of any service, whether it's Education, Medical Care, or Housing, they cause higher prices, lower quality,
create Bubbles, and they give us this mess that we're in. That's why we have to eventually get our… we have to wise up, and look at
where the Bubble's come from. It's from the Federal Reserve. And we should start by auditing the Fed. And, then we should end the Fed.
(applause)'.”

[16]
Bill Bennett (Secretary of Education from 1985 to 1988 under
President Ronald Reagan) put forth the well-known 'Bennett
Hypothesis': “I postulated that the availability of a large
amount of federal money was driving up tuition, and in the long run
making it more difficult for poor students to go. It’s common
sense. The more you subsidize something, the more you get of it. And
almost every college chancellor or president I met felt that their
obligation was to expand and create more departments, more centers
and more graduate programs.” Bill Bennett, quoted in “Catching
Up on the Bennett Hypothesis,” By Samantha Stainburn, Nov. 1,
2013, New York Times:
www.nytimes.com/2013/11/03/education/edlife/catching-up-on-the-bennett-hypothesis.html